Snackable Series: Creating and Facilitating Discussions

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Solving Teaching Challenges One Byte at a Time.snackable-logo-fall2013” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted. The next session will be held September 18th and 19th and focuses on utilizing discussions in D2L.

Discussions in D2L are a form of asynchronous interaction between the members of a class. When designed properly, discussions build a learning community, encourage critical thinking, and help your students apply the material they are learning. This session will introduce you to some best practices in designing and facilitating discussion in D2L and will include sample discussion prompts you can adapt for your course.

The dates, times, and location for this snackable are as follows:

Wednesday, September 18, 2013: Noon to 1 p.m.
Thursday, September 19, 2013: 11 a.m. to Noon
Location: iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session, seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

If you have any questions regarding the Snackable Series and its sessions, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

Snackable Series: Promoting In-Class Interactivity (Part 2)

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Solving Teaching Challenges One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted.  The next session will be held November 28 and 29, 2012 and focuses on promoting in-class interactivity.

In this series learn how a variety of technology tools can be used to increase course content retention.  Tools showcased include student response system (i.e., “clickers”), PowerPoint activities such as Jeopardy, and StudyMate learning activities and games.  This session focuses on strategies for leveraging these technologies to promote interaction in your class and increase engagement.

The dates, times, and location for this Snackable are as follows:

Wednesday, November 28, 2012:  Noon – 1 p.m.
Thursday, November 29, 2012:  11 a.m. to Noon
Location: iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

Snackable Series: “Promoting In-Class Interactivity: Part 1”

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Solving Teaching Challenges One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted.  The next session will be held November 7 and 8, 2012 and focus on promoting in-class interactivity.

In this series learn how WebEx and social media tools can be used to increase the interaction between the instructor and students in your classes. Using social media tools to promote collaboration, such as Voicethread, wallwisher, and Twitter will be discussed. This session focuses on strategies for leveraging these technologies to personalize your class and increase engagement!

The dates, times, and location for this Snackable are as follows:

Wednesday, November 7, 2012:  Noon – 1 p.m.
Thursday, November 8, 2012:  11 a.m. to Noon
Location: iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

New Snackable Workshop, Distance Education Room

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted. The next sessions will be held April 18 and 19, 2012 and focus on the use of the Distance Education Room.

UW-Whitewater faculty and staff have access to a number of distance education technologies that enable them to reach students who are not on campus, share resources/courses with other UW institutions, and participate in statewide meetings without leaving campus. The Distance Education room is equipped with video conferencing technology and is located in room L1230a in the Andersen Library Building.

The speakers featured for this Snackable, Michael “Shelly” Allen, from UW-Whitewater, and Terry Wirkus, UW-La Crosse’s Distance Education Manager, will be sharing their experiences and best practices using distance education.

The dates, times, and location for this Snackable are as follows:

Wednesday, April 18, 2012: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 19, 2012: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Anderson Library Building, Room L1230a (Building Entrance 6, end of the long hallway)

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

Turnitin Suite, New in the Snackable Series

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted. The next sessions will be held March 14 and 15, 2012 and focus on the use of Turninin Suite.

The Turnitin Suite includes the following:

  • OriginalityCheck helps eliminate abuse of the Internet as a research tool and minimizes any potentially negative impact on the development of quality reading, writing, and research skills.
  • GradeMark saves instructors time by providing an easy-to-use tool for electronically grading student papers.
  • PeerMark can also be used to allow students to evaluate each others work and provide structured, anonymous feedback.

Bring your lunch, and join your peers for this session on the following days:

Wednesday, March 14, 2012: Noon to 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 15, 2012: 11 a.m. to Noon
Location: iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: http://signup.uww.edu

Registration is also open for upcoming Snackable sessions on the Distance Education Room (April 18 and 19). To submit ideas for future topics for the “Snackable Series”, please e-mail the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center at ltc@uww.edu.

For more information on these Turnitin tools, please visit the Turnitin wiki or schedule a personal consultation with a member of the Learning Technology Center.

New Digital Assessment Tool: GradeMark

A new online tool called “GradeMark” is now available to UW-Whitewater instructors!  GradeMark allows instructors to more easily and quickly provide “digital” (rather than handwritten) feedback and grades on student papers and assignments. GradeMark is a digital assessment tool that is part of the Turnitin suite. Both OriginalityCheck for plagiarism detection and GradeMark tools are integrated in the dropbox of Desire2Learn (D2L).

Using GradeMark, instructors may electronically edit, provide customized comments, and grade papers utilizing time-saving drag-and-drop tools, including:

  1. QuickMarks: Standard editing marks and comments for composition format, punctuation, and usage.
  2. General Comments:  Instructor personal comments that can be linked to any word, paragraph, or point in the document. Comments may be stored and used again.
  3. Comments Lists: View all QuickMarks and comments for the document in one location.

Watch this video to learn more:

For detailed instructions, please visit the GradeMark wiki.  Attend the LTC workshop on the Turninin Suite (register at http://signup.uww.edu) or schedule a personal consultation with a member of the Learning Technology Center.

StudyMate Author: Easily Create Educational Games and Activities

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.” In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted. The next sessions will be held February 15 and 16, 2012 and focus on the use of StudyMate Author. Please bring your lunch and join your peers on the following days:

StudyMate Author
Wednesday, February 15, 2012: Noon to 1 p.m.
Thursday, February 16, 2012: 11 a.m. to Noon (join via Webinar or in-person)
iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

StudyMate Author is a software tool that instructors can use to create interactive Flash-based activities and games. A dozen activities are available to engage students with course content in an individualized way. Activities include challenge games, flash cards, crossword puzzles, and quizzes. Students have fun and learn at the same time.

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: https://signup.uww.edu

Registration is also open for upcoming Snackable sessions on Turnitin Suite (March 14 and 15) and Distance Education Room (April 18 and 19). To submit ideas for future topics for the “Snackable Series”, please e-mail the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center at ltc@uww.edu.

Learn about Student Response Systems (Clickers)

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.”  In the “Snackable Series” sessions, a specific learning technology is spotlighted.

The next sessions will be held November 16 and 17 and focus on the use of Student Response System (Clickers).  Ben Bestic, from Turning Technologies will lead the session and discuss classroom use of clicker keypads and the ResponseWare “clicker app.”

Please join your peers on the following days to learn about Student Response Systems:

Student Response System “Clickers”
Wednesday, 11/16: Noon to 1 pm
Thursday, 11/17: 11 am to Noon
iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Use of a student response system can transform a standard PowerPoint lecture into a powerful, interactive presentation that engages students in interactive learning. Through the use of a clicker keypad, or the new clicker mobile app, student responses can be captured and immediately displayed from within your PowerPoint presentation.

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: https://signup.uww.edu

To submit ideas for future topics for the “Snackable Series”, please e-mail the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center at ltc@uww.edu.

Learn About D2L Rubrics

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to invite faculty and instructional staff to attend the next free session in the Snackable Series “Technology – One Byte at a Time.”  In the “Snackable Series” sessions,  a specific learning technology is spotlighted.  The next sessions will be held October 19 and 20 and focus on the use of D2L Rubrics.  Please bring your lunch and join your peers on the following days to learn about D2L Rubrics:"Rubrics" Cube

Desire2Learn’s Rubric Tool
Wednesday, 10/19: Noon to 1 pm
Thursday, 10/20: 11 am to Noon
iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

D2L Rubrics are a useful tool for Instructors to provide clear criteria to students regarding what is expected for an assignment as well as effectively communicate feedback on why a grade was given. Most often formatted as a grid, a rubric can be organized in a variety of ways and reflect an infinite number of grading schemes.

Register online today for this “Snackable Series” session – seating is limited: https://signup.uww.edu

To submit ideas for future topics for the “Snackable Series”, please e-mail the UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center at ltc@uww.edu.